Do you want to make some cash over the summer? There are a number of ways to go about earning some money, from getting a summer job, to picking up odd jobs here and there, and selling things you don’t need or want anymore. Your success will depend on how hard you look for work and how much time you are prepared to spend in order to bring in more money. Keep an open mind about the options and you could find yourself earning some valuable summer cash, while having fun and gaining work experience as you do it.

Steps

Method1

Getting a Full-Time Temporary Summer Job

1

Keep an open mind when looking for a summer job. The most obvious thing to do to earn money over the summer is to get a good summer job. There are a huge variety of areas you could work in, so you should keep an open mind when thinking about what you would like to do. There will be things you can do locally, but also jobs that involve you being away for weeks at a time.

Most of the time you will need to begin looking for work before summer comes around. So be proactive and start sending out resumes before you finish school for the summer.

2

Think about a summer camp job. Being a camp counsellor can be really fun way to earn some money, do a wide-range of different activities, spend lots of time outdoors, and meet loads of great new people. It’s a big time commitment, but can give you great and experience and be an excellent addition to your resume.[1]

You will learn lots of valuable leadership, communication, and organisation skills as a camp counsellor.

If you have specific skills, like languages or sports, there are particular camps that you should keep an eye out for.

3

Work in food, catering or retail. Working in your local mall or shopping centre is one of the most common types of summer work available. Look for positions advertised online, but also walk around your local mall with a copy of your CV and go into shops to ask if they are recruiting. It’s best to be proactive in your search as they will most likely be a good few people looking for work in the same places.

Working in these areas can give you great experience learning personal organisation and customer service skills.[2]

4

Look for a summer internship or work placement. Getting an internship or placement over the summer can be a fantastic way to gain experience relevant to your career interests as well as building up some contacts, and earning some money. It's a good idea to contact your school or college careers service as they might have an index of local firms that take on interns.[3]

Alternatively put yourself out there and approach places you would be interested to work at.

Do your research before you contact a company.

Don't think of it as a summer job, but a potential trial period for your long-term career. Treat it accordingly and maintain a high-level of professionalism.[4]

Method2

Finding Odd Jobs and Casual Work

1

Work at summer events. There a lots of big events in the summer which require a lot of casual workers. Look around your local area for festivals and events and contact the organisers. You could even get work at a music festival or sports event that you love.[5] The sort of work you can do at these festival includes handing out promotional flyers, punching tickets, and a host of other things.

If you have particular skills, such as first aid, you will be more attractive to the event organizers.

2

Try car washing. Washing cars can be a good way to earn some extra cash, especially if you can team up with some friends and drum up a lot of business. Word of mouth works, so be sure to do a good job and people will recommend you to others.

3

Find out if anyone in your neighbourhood needs a house sitter. Housesitting is a really great and pretty easy way to earn money over the summer. You may find yourself being paid to water plants, feed the pets and just keep an eye on the house while the residents are away on holiday.[6] Ask around people you know to see if anyone is looking for a house sitter, as you are more likely to get a job from someone you know who trusts you.

Leaving your keys with someone is quite big deal, so although the actual work may be easy, you need to take it seriously and respect the house.

4

Try babysitting or being a nanny. If you like kids, this can be a way to make cash over the summer and have a lot of fun at the same time. This isn’t just for women either! Looking after children is a very serious job, so be prepared to put in a lot of work and be exhausted at the end of the day, but playing in the park with some good kids is probably more fun than washing cars.

If you have particular skills, such as being able to tutor in the kids in a foreign language, or teach them arts and crafts, then parents may offer you more money.[7]

If you have a good relationship with parents and their kids, there can be lots of work here for you that can continue beyond the summer.

5

Offer pet feeding and walking services. Feeding pets is a nice way to earn a bit of extra cash, especially if you can build up a good number of pets nearby to feed. Feeding one cat, once a day will probably not earn you all that much. You can compliment this by taking on some dog walking too, in order to increase the time you are working and the amount you get paid.[8]

You can ask around your neighbourhood for those who are going on vacation and need someone to feed their pets.

You could also put an advert in your local paper, or drop some flyers through mailboxes.

6

Try doing yard work. Yard work is a good way to earn some money while enjoying the weather, getting a suntan, and some exercise. Summer yard work covers things like mowing lawns, basic gardening and more serious landscaping work. This will most often be casual work, so you will have to work hard to get your customers in the first place, but once you build up a good list you can start to see the money flow in.[9]

Keep an open mind about the kind of yard work you can do, and work out your rates early on.

7

Do some house painting. Summer house painting is another classic way to earn extra money in the summer. You can do this on your own, or with a group of friends. Put some adverts up and knock on some doors to let people know about your business. Like yard work, this can be a great way to earn money while still enjoying the weather and seeing a tangible result of your work.

Consider completing a training course before you start to advertise yourself, as this could make you stand out from your competitors, as well as improve your brushwork.[10]

Method3

Sell Some Things

1

Work out what you can get rid of. Selling some stuff you don’t need or want can be a good way to get a little extra money. The first to do is to go through your things and work out what you can spare. Things like college and school books, clothes and shoes can all fetch good prices. But CDs and DVDs may not go for so much.

You can check some online shops to see what kind of price you can get.

2

Sell old college books. Textbooks that you are finished with can be some of the most valuable things you have, especially the very expensive medical and engineering books that all students on those courses have to buy. Be sure to describe the condition they are in accurately, and look around to see the kind of prices second hand copies are going for.

Lots of people will be trying to sell old books, so be realistic in your valuation.[11]

Advertise on campus as well as online.

3

Have a yard sale. One good to way to shift a variety of bits and pieces that you have, without having to list them online and pay for postage and packing, is to have a yard sale, or go to a car boot sale. You will not be getting big prices for what you are selling, so have realistic expectations. But you can do a few things to increase your chances of making more money.[12]

Promote it well, so you get good footfall.

Have a clear pricing strategy so people don’t think you are just making it up as you go along.

Sell some drinks and snacks to your shoppers.

There is also the added bonus of getting rid of some of your old stuff.

4

For more cash, sell big ticket items. If you really need to bring in some money, it might be easier to sell a few things that can fetch a big price. You won't get much for dozens of old CDs, but a good stereo or piece of electrical equipment could be very lucrative.

Things like musical instruments can be worth a lot of money.

Don't make any rash decisions though. Once it's gone, you can't get it back.